New Delhi, Jul 27 (PTI) The management committee of the Thakur Shree Banke Bihari Ji Maharaj temple in Mathura has moved the Supreme Court against a Uttar Pradesh government ordinance that vests the control of the shrine’s administration with the state.
In a plea filed through advocate Tanvi Dubey, the temple management committee, comprising 350 members and “sewayat” Rajat Goswami, said the state’s conduct is visibly mala fide as an issue concerning the use of temple funds to acquire five acres of land was already decided by the high court on November 8, 2023 and it has denied the state the permission to use the temple funds for acquiring the land.
The committee said the Uttar Pradesh government did not file appeals against the high court’s November 8, 2023 order and instead, an impleadment application was filed in the pending plea before the top court.
“The said SLP was concerning a completely different issue concerning elections in Giriraj Seva Samiti which is totally a separate issue from Banke Bihari ji Maharaj temple. A direction was passed in order dated May 15, 2025 by the Supreme Court, inter alia, granting permission to the state of Uttar Pradesh to utilise temple funds to acquire five acres of land,” the plea says.
The petition is listed for hearing before a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi on Monday.
Subsequently, an application was filed against the May 15 order of the top court, primarily on the ground that neither the temple nor the “sewayats” were ever made a party to the present dispute.
The management committee said the impugned ordinance unlawfully preempts and frustrates the outcome of a PIL pending before the Allahabad High Court concerning the administration of the Banke Bihari temple.
“The State, by taking over the subject-matter of a live judicial proceeding, has violated the doctrine of separation of powers, interfered with judicial independence, and misused the ordinance-making power under Article 213 of the Constitution,” the plea says.
It adds that the passing of an ordinance that directly touches upon the issues pending adjudication before the high court is sheer abuse of power and unconstitutional.
“Thus, the governor was exercising a colourable exercise of power enacting the ordinance under the pretext of an emergency when the matter was sub-judice and pending before the high court, thereby tainting the ordinance with a mala-fide intent. The nexus between the timing of the ordinance and the circumstances surrounding it points towards the mala fide nature of the order,” the management committee said.
On May 15, the top court allowed an impleadment application filed by the state and paved the way for a Uttar Pradesh government scheme to develop the Shri Banke Bihari Temple Corridor in Mathura for the benefit of scores of devotees.
It had allowed the state’s plea to utilise the funds of the Banke Bihari temple only for the purchase of a five-acre land around the temple to create a holding area.
The top court, however, said the land to be acquired for the purposes of development of the temple and the corridor should be in the name of the deity or the trust.
In the process, it modified the November 8, 2023 order of the Allahabad High Court on a public interest litigation (PIL) plea filed by the state government, accepting the government’s ambitious scheme but refusing to allow it to utilise the temple funds.
The apex court observed that as the court was in seisin of the cause qua — the administration and safety of temples in the Braj region — it was in public interest to decide the issue raised by the Uttar Pradesh government expeditiously.
Under the proposed scheme placed on record by the state for the development for the temple, the top court had said a five-acre land around the temple had to be acquired and developed by constructing parking lots, accommodation facilities for the devotees, toilets, security checkposts and other amenities.
The high court observed in its November 8, 2023 order that the acquisition of the land around the temple and the consequent development project was crucial to ensure the safety of the pilgrims.
The top court had observed that the state government would incur costs of more than Rs 500 crore to develop the corridor and proposed that the temple funds be utilised for purchasing the land in question, which was denied by the high court.
During the hearing, the Uttar Pradesh government had pointed out the dire situation of the Banke Bihari temple in Mathura and the lack of proper administration and amenities.
The temple, spread over a limited area of only 1,200 square feet, has a daily footfall of around 50,000 devotees, going up to between 1.5 lakh and two lakh on weekends and more than five lakh during festivals, it had said.
The government had said the Uttar Pradesh Braj Planning and Development Board Act, 2015 was enacted for the development, preservation and maintenance of the Braj Heritage in Mathura district. PTI MNL RC
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